IC 2118, also known as the Witch Head Nebula, is a ghostly, reflection nebula situated about 900 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. Shaped like a spooky witch profile with a hooked "nose," it glows faintly blue due to the nearby bright star Rigel (a blue supergiant) in the Orion constellation. Rigel's intense starlight (120,000 times brighter than our sun) scatters off the dust particles in IC 2118, creating a bluish glow similar to Earth's sky. This haunting shape makes it a popular October target for skywatchers, as its "witchy" silhouette is especially fitting for Halloween. The nebula spans about 50 light-years, making it an extensive, but faint, target best viewed in dark skies with a telescope or through long-exposure astrophotography.
This photo was challenging due to the nebula's large size and limited visibility time each night. The overall composition took 3 weeks of imaging and captured over 1200 images with an exposure time of 3 minutes each. The full resolution of this image provides a stunning view of the nebula's dust and gas, light from Rigel and many distant galaxies. You can download the full resolution image (9436x7833 resolution) from my google drive link - drive.google.com/drive/folders/1m2sWlqabbXSoR_xwFn…
If you would like the original FITS files for this image, message me and I'll send you a link to download them. #astrophotography#space
Zak LaJoie
Zak LaJoie
IC 2118, also known as the Witch Head Nebula, is a ghostly, reflection nebula situated about 900 light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. Shaped like a spooky witch profile with a hooked "nose," it glows faintly blue due to the nearby bright star Rigel (a blue supergiant) in the Orion constellation. Rigel's intense starlight (120,000 times brighter than our sun) scatters off the dust particles in IC 2118, creating a bluish glow similar to Earth's sky. This haunting shape makes it a popular October target for skywatchers, as its "witchy" silhouette is especially fitting for Halloween. The nebula spans about 50 light-years, making it an extensive, but faint, target best viewed in dark skies with a telescope or through long-exposure astrophotography.
This photo was challenging due to the nebula's large size and limited visibility time each night. The overall composition took 3 weeks of imaging and captured over 1200 images with an exposure time of 3 minutes each. The full resolution of this image provides a stunning view of the nebula's dust and gas, light from Rigel and many distant galaxies. You can download the full resolution image (9436x7833 resolution) from my google drive link - drive.google.com/drive/folders/1m2sWlqabbXSoR_xwFn…
If you would like the original FITS files for this image, message me and I'll send you a link to download them. #astrophotography #space
1 year ago | [YT] | 3
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